-  About me  -

My real name is Zita Anna Volford, but ever since I was born, everyone, even my bosses, has called me Zizi. I like this nickname, it suits me.

I was born in Hungary, but I have lived abroad for a long time. I love animals, nature, and languages (I speak English and German). I lived in Canada for almost 11 years, before that I lived in Germany for two and a half years and in Austria for a year-and-a-half. I enjoyed my years in Canada the most. Not only because of my personal life (my husband was Canadian and he had two of his three boys living there), but also because of the welcoming, open atmosphere, the inclusion of people from all over the world. My parents always raised me this way: look at what's in the heart of people, and not at their colour, religion, sexual orientation. I was able to put their teaching to good use there, and I loved every minute of it. I learned so much while living in Canada.

I like to try new things all the time. In my 59 years I worked as a hotel receptionist, a secretary at an international company in Budapest, a website and graphic designer, a wine maker, and - hopefully - my life is far from over. So I still have time to try something completely new.

I love dogs, I haven't lived without a dog for 39 years and I don't ever want to. I have two dogs now. Panka is a beautiful short-haired Hungarian Vizsla. She is an intelligent, emotional, warm-hearted little deer. Gerbeaud is a funny little mixed breed that we adopted from a shelter. He is full of life, cheerfulness, curiosity, love—and hunting instinct. He is also very clever. It makes me sad to think about his life before he met us: living on a chain outside with no love. Then he ended up in an animal shelter where his clever, curious little nature had a chance to come to light. And when David and I were ready to adopt  a dog, we went to this shelter that was recommended to me by a good friend of mine. Zsuzsi, the lady who runs the shelter, recommended Gerbeaud immediately. She said that based on how we live our lives, he would be perfect for us. We took him home that day and she was totally right. He fitted in from the first moment he set foot in our home. Panka and Gerbeaud are a wonderful pair, they love each other very much. We embarked on this great adventure together, we are the three musketeers. As I write this, we have already covered more than a thousand kilometers, visited two big cities (Ljubljana and Genoa) and stayed at two new, unfamiliar accommodations – and so far I can only speak in superlatives about my four-legged, furry companions – I'll knock on wood – I hope it stays that way. I trust them, I love them.

So then: LET THE ADVENTURE BEGIN!